Truth & Lies

Summary : Truth and lies are two sides of the same coin. One time Tsunayoshi was known as the inferior older brother of the established Lloyd family who died tragically along with his father. Later, he was 'reborn' as a founder of a budding mafia family which eradicated his own blood family, including his benevolent step-mother. Under the conceit and façade, what did Tsunayoshi think? Would he learn that misunderstanding is part of humanity? No pairings. Brother!/ Sickly!/Mute!/Pretend-to-be-snobbish Tsuna. Set in Victorian England.

Disclaimer : I hereby declare that I do not own KHR! (/grabbing the bible/) It is supposed to set in Japan and Italy, but here you have nineteenth century UK, so, yes, it is messed up by Tea-Stained Brain :P!

Warning : AU. OOC KHR characters. Based on manga, mainly. Poor punctuations and spacing. Nauseous Britishness. Historical and cultural inaccuracy. Tea!


Prologue

One late night somewhere in a relatively large estate of an old merchant family in Hertfordshire, England, it was snowing, covering the ground and the tree into a white thick cold blanket. It had been snowing for a while, and the temperature dropped drastically from the afternoon. The wind developed into an icy gale. The sky was stark black. Most people, rich or poor, would retreat to the comfort of the fire places in their homes, unable to tolerate the unusually harsh winter.

Similarly, the main building of this manor was lit by the massive, fiery central fire in the living room. The family gathered around for the warmth of the fire. But, more importantly, it was a ninth birthday of a certain boy, a young master of the house. The said boy was sitting in front of the fire, unwrapping his many presents, given by his affectionate mother and relatives, ranging from latest train models to a beautiful tailored winter coat with cashmere fur. His mother was sitting on a sofa, watching her son squeaked with glee and ruining the meticulously done packages in haste with gentle sky-blue orbs. Aunts, uncles and cousins laughed along at the antics. Soon, the mansion was filled with laughter. After the gift time, the mother laid her son on her laps, telling his favourite bedtime story with her sweet voice. The boy, lulled by his mother's storytelling and the tender warmth of the fire, drifted off to a slumber peacefully, cuddling his mother's waist.

Seeing such a heart-warming sight of the boy dozing off, the adults started their conversation.

"Time flies, and before I realised it, Cielo became nine!," said a middle-aged man in a neat ivory suit.

"We're glad the heir of the family has grown into a strong, capable boy."

"That's right. Compared to his late brother."

"It's sad, but our family's future seemed brighter in the hands of your boy. Thank god he's not as sickly."

The woman only smiled gently at that, showing neither malice nor smug.

At the same time, outside among the dark cold winter night, a figure stood shivering with the unbearable cold on the snow-covered ground behind a leafless tree, also covered by snow, panting in an effort to retain his energy. He gazed at the giant glass window of the house's main living room, seeing familiar faces smiling, enjoying their chat and the cozy warmth of the inside, hearing laughters of voices he recognized.

Oh, how he would like to join in!

But it's not the festive liveliness and kindness of his seemingly loving relatives in that living room that tempted him, but solely the warmth of the fire. That kindness was only reserved for the woman and the 6-year-old boy there, he thought bitterly while licking his fingers in a desperate attempt to get rid of the numb sensation, only to taste blood in his mouth and pull his tongue back. He sometimes even thought of using his flame inherited from his late father for warmth, but it was too weak to make any differences.

Also, Tsunayoshi Lloyd was supposed to be dead.

Feeling a presence behind him, the brunet turned his head with his clattering teeth and shaking hands. It was a raven-haired boy with sharp eyes with oriental feature, his distant relative on his mother's side.

"Herbivore," said the black-haired boy in disinterested tone.

The brown-haired only nodded back, perceiving it as a greeting. He was actually elated that someone would keep him company, only if for a few seconds, on such a cold, lonely night. He wished he could give a warm greeting back, but he was mute after all. He could not even at least smile since he long forgot how to.

Understanding, the raven boy stepped closer, joining the brunet in peeping into the inside of the building, hearing the ragged breathing of the latter constantly. In other instances, he would get frustrated and lash out (or 'bite to death,' as he liked to put it) at such an annoying noise. But, this time, he just remained quiet, observing the brunet and the brightly lit window.

"You are always a small animal," said the raven-haired at last.

A bitter smile formed on the small animal's face, one that would not be expected on such a young face. Yes, he knew how to make a bitter smile since then. Besides, his distant cousin always called him that. He is pathetic and helpless like a small, powerless creature, only born to be a prey after all.

Despite knowing it was going to be only him, the quiet Hibari who did not waste time talking much, who did the talking, he continued.

"But, do you know why," said the boy in a rare almost unnoticeably gentle voice, "they don't all extinct?"

The brunet gave an expression of wonder at that, not expecting the raven to ask a mute person, not to mention the only-god-knows content of the question.

"Small animals aren't necessarily always weaklings," said the raven in a matter-of-fact tone, staring at the warm living room through the window with his usual indifferent eyes, but the brunet widened his eyes in surprise as a response. That never was what he thought his relative meant.

The raven boy paused as if pondering before saying something the brunet would remember forever,

.

.

"Small animals have their own ways of surviving."


Author's note :

Hi, there! How was this starting? It might be quite vague now, but, hey, it's a prologue X)!

Also, I have to emphasise that there are NO PAIRINGS in this fic.. This is definitely not 1827L! Just open with Hibari's one-sided conversation with Tsuna because his quote in chapter 323 is quite relevant to this story :)!

Please READ & REVIEW!